A Lovers Muse
by missmandymalfoy
Summary: Harry and the crew are back for their 7th year at Hogwarts. Things take a turn when Dumbledore introduces a Bonding Class, a class that students are randomly put into groups of 6 and have to live with each other for 42 days. When 4 Gryffindors, 1 Ravenclaw, and a Slytherin are paired together will they all survive the 6 weeks in such close quarters? Or will tensions become too much
1. Chapter 1

A Lovers Muse

42 days, 6 weeks, 4 Gryffindors, 1 Ravenclaw, and a Slytherin, what happens next?

Harry and the crew are back for their 7th year at Hogwarts. Things take a turn when Dumbledore introduces a Bonding Class, a class that students are randomly put into groups of 6 and have to live with each other for 42 days. When 4 Gryffindors, 1 Ravenclaw, and a Slytherin are paired together, will they all survive the 6 weeks in such close quarters? Or will the tensions become too much?

**NEED TO KNOW**: Harry and the crew are back for their 7th year at Hogwarts. The war hasn't happened yet. Draco isn't a Death Eater, and wasn't assigned his task in 6th year. Cedric is still alive, the trio isn't hunting for Horcruxes because they don't know about them yet, and Dumbledore is still alive and in charge.

**Characters**: Hermione, Draco, Harry, Luna, Lavender, Seamus

Luna is in Harry's year for this story, as well as Cho Chang.

**Rated M for future content**

**PS:** When originally writing this I had a heavier themes in mind (I naturally write angst, you see) but I don't know if I will bring them up or not. Maybe I'll hint at them, but I want to keep this story as light as possible

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter (if I did I'd be lying on a beach somewhere with a drink in hand, not hunkered down in my house surrounded by 3 feet of snow)

**PSS**: I apologize in advance for the the characters being OOC

* * *

"What do you think it's about then, this class?" Harry wondered aloud. The Great Hall was abuzz with lively conversation, most of it mainly focused around the mysterious 'new class' that all seventh years were being required to take.

"I don't know, Harry, though I do hope we get lots of homework. My mind has had far too much time to wander lately," Hermione didn't look up from her worn copy of _Hogwarts: A History_ whilst saying these exact words. Beside her, Ron almost choked on his pumpkin pasty, and Hermione jumped back at the risk of him spewing crumbs over her precious book. "Watch it, Ronald!"

Ron, though still a slight shade of blue, sat there for a bit looking bewildered before he summoned his breath back again. "Lots of homework, you say? As if we don't have a load already! Honestly…" Harry, sensing that there was going to be an argument between his two best friends, turned to Seamus beside him.

"On a less biased standpoint, what say you?"

The Irish boy looked thoughtful for a few moments before shrugging. "I haven't got a clue. I wouldn't be stressing me pants off if I did, would I?" Harry rolled his eyes to himself, but nodded anyways. He wasn't about to get a better response from anyone at the Gryffindor table.

This new class was only briefly mentioned by Dumbledore the previous night during announcements at dinner. Harry found it a bit odd that the staff would wait for school to be in session for a few weeks before mentioning this. So far, the only information they knew was as followed: all seventh years (Harry's year) were required to take this class. It would not conflict with any of the Quidditch Schedules or practices, or any other clubs, much to the students' relief. After lunch, they were to go up to the North Tower to hear information on the class. No other questions were answered until then.

As one could imagine, this produced excitement and nerves for the seventh years. The sixth years were sneering of how they didn't have to take the class yet, and the Fifth Years were giggling at the Seventh's anxiety. What would this class be about? Would it be easy, would it provide the starvation for homework? Well, the last one was in Hermione's opinion only, but you get the point. Harry had even seen some of the Slytherins fiddling around anxiously while waiting for lunch to arrive. And now, it was here, and Harry was left wondering why he had wished it to come so quickly.

"Honestly, Harry, Dumbledore specifically stated that we would find out more later today. Why bother asking questions over what no one knows?"

Ron muttered something that sounded suspiciously about being hypocritical, but it was muffled out when Hermione shot him a glare scary enough to make Voldemort drop dead. Neville almost passed out on the other side of the Gryffindor table. Harry clapped his hands together in an attempt to lighten the mood. "Anyways! We should get going now if we want to make it in time, correct?"

Ron's mouth dropped open, and his half chewed pumpkin pasty dropped onto his plate. Lavender cringed in disgust, Seamus gave a bout of laughter, and Ginny face palmed at her brother's lack of social skills, and Hermione's eyes watered with fondness as she gazed at Harry. "I have taught you so well," she said emotionally, while Ron gave him the _have-you-gone-mad_ look.

Reluctantly, Ron and Harry rushed to follow Hermione as she bounded out of the Great Hall and off towards the class awaiting them. The two boys had to push numerous unsuspecting students out of the way in order to catch up. When they finally did, Harry doubled over and Ron wheezed. "Slow down!"

Surprisingly, Hermione obliged. She slowed down to a brisk walk, which Harry's side starting cramping over, as they continued at a fast pace through the corridor. Ron graciously offered apologies to any of the younger students who didn't get out of the way in time.

As Hermione's shoes tapped along the floor nosily, she decided to ask, "Where is it anyways?" Harry frowned in slight confusion, and he and the Weasley exchanged a look.

"You mean you don't know?" That wasn't right. Hermione was always on top of things. Wasn't this the girl that had already completed the Potions essay that wasn't due for two more weeks?

"I have been busy," she responded, aloof. If there was one word that Harry had never dreamed he would have used to describe Hermione was 'aloof'. Ron was slightly dazed at this new change of personality.

"With what?"

Now, Harry had to whack himself on the forehead, along with Hermione, at Ron's question. Hermione's course load was immense, as much as if could be without a Time Turner handy. Not to mention the numerous hours she spent huddled up in the library.

"Homework?" she asked dully. Harry granted her the use of her tone. Ron turned a little pink and mumbled something unintelligible as the Trio rounded a corner and proceeded walking. "It keeps me distracted,"

"But I thought you said you had it all under control? You know you shouldn't take on what you can't handle. It's bad for you to be stressed out all the time," Harry said worryingly. Hermione gave him an affectionate smile and patted his arm.

"Oh, I do, I've just been distracted lately,"

Harry gave Ron a sideways glance. "You know, Ron, the mind is often clouded when there are more important things occupying it,"

"Oh yes, and what might that be," Ron asked, wondering why there was a somewhat mischievous glint in the raven headed boy's eyes.

"_Love,"_

Ron stared at him for a moment, before repeating dumbly. "Love?"

"_Love,"_

"Love?!" Hermione exclaimed loudly, earning a few snickers from a group of Slytherins that had just passed by. Glaring at their backs for a bit, Hermione then turned back to the boys, who were going farther into Harry's conclusion.

"That's right," Harry stated proudly.

"Merlin's pants, so Hermione's in love,"

"I think we're jumping to conclusions here…" Hermione squeaked from the side, desperately trying to get a say in the conversation. She argued, "I'm not in love!"

"She's not in love!" Ron said, the tips of his ears turning a shade of red that rivaled his hair. Harry gave his friend a curious and teasing look, causing Ron to go a few shades darker.

"Stop being so defensive Ron and face the facts," said Harry smoothly.

Hermione tried to laugh it off. "Boys, you are being ridiculous…"

Her actions failed. "Oh really, then how do you explain-" before Harry could launch into a well-thought explanation, she stepped in.

"Where is this class anyways, I would quite like to know where I am going," Hermione interrupted smartly. Luckily, her blatant change of subject succeeded, because Harry forgot his train of thought and said absently,

"North Tower...Hey, why did you stop walking?" Harry stopped too, and glanced back over his shoulder. The curly brunette had frozen on the spot. Ron and Harry, including many passing students watched her curiously and quite oddly.

"The North Tower?" she breathed. Ron gave Harry the I-Told-You-She-Was-Mental look.

"Er, yes?"

"You don't say,"

"Well, I did just say-" Harry was starting to debate whether or not he should take her to the Hospital Wing when he was rudely cut off by a screech.

"YOU CAN'T MAKE ME GO!"

Yup, the Hospital Wing was a definite go.

"Sweet Merlin where's the banshee?!" Ron cried in alarm, ducking for cover underneath his book bag.

"Hermione?!"

"NEVER!" there was a stubborn glint in Hermione's eyes that scared Harry a bit.

"I think you're being a bit…ridiculous," Harry was searching for a word that would not upset his apparently mentally unstable friend before him. Darn it, Ron, why did he always leave the talking to Harry to deal with?

"I AM NOT!"

"Come on Hermione, we'll be late,"

"Yeah, what's so bad about the North Tower anyways?"

"BECAUSE THAT'S NEAR WHERE THE DIVINATION CLASS ROOM IS!"

Ron's brow wrinkled in confusion. "So…?" It suddenly clicked in Harry head. His suspicions were confirmed when she shouted,

"THAT'S WHERE TRELAWNEY IS!"

"Come on Hermione," Harry sighed, already tired. He knew that it was a near impossible task to sway Hermione Granger. She was as stubborn as an ox, and as if to prove his point of not budging, Hermione latched herself onto a nearby statue and held on for dear life.

"YOU CAN'T MAKE ME GO!"

"Don't mind us folks, carry on with your life or whatever is it you're doing. Pay no attention to the crazed girl beside me," Ron said tactlessly to the innocent students walking by the scene. It was quite a scene too. Harry was standing next to Hermione, his hand on her arm trying to pull her off while she continuously shouted 'NO' at the top of her lungs, as she clung onto a statue of a famous member of the Order of Merlin, all while Ron was carefully keeping a safe distance, only stepping in when commentary was needed.

"I am not CRAZED!"

"Haha, Hermione, you look funny when you say that with your eyes all bulgy and…Please don't glare at us like that, it's scary," Ron whimpered as he stepped back even further. "Thank you!" Ron piped up gloriously when she released her stare.

"You can't make me go!"

"Yes, yes, you said that already. Come on, we'll be late, then we'll lose house points, and McGonagall will be mad," Harry reasoned. Hermione relented for a millisecond at the thought of angering her Head of House, and Harry took that to his advantage. He swung her over his shoulder and stepped lightly to the floor as he began to half carry have drag Hermione down the hallway. Her heels scuffed the ground occasionally, littering the fine oak floors with black marks.

Hermione shrieked unhappily from Harry's shoulder. "Hey! Harry James Potter, put me down!" she pounded on his back, and Harry struggled to hold her. She wasn't a big girl but she certainly wasn't small.

"That's quite the suggestive position…" Ron said unhelpfully from the side.

"If words do me no good then my actions must be turned to force, as it is only effective to force force upon you peacefully," Harry said with an air of importance in his tone. Hermione rolled her eyes and 'harumphed' and gave up.

Ron's eyes had widened in awe. "Wow, that was deep mate, who said that?"

"Me,"

"BOYS!"

"Alright alright! Come on Hermione…"

The next ten minutes consisted of Harry lugging Hermione across the castle and up a hundred steps to the North Tower. Once at the top, Harry collapsed onto the ground mercilessly as Hermione jumped lightly off his back and onto the floor with a newfound enthusiasm.

"Come on Harry, we'll be late!" Hermione squealed and ran past him, stepping on him in the process of rushing through the classroom door. Harry continued to lie on the floor, and Ron had to kick him to make sure he was still alive.

"Merlin, mate, are you that out of shape? Those stairs didn't wind me," Ron said once he saw Harry twitch after a few nudges with his foot. Harry didn't even bother sitting up. He huffed from the floor,

"You try carrying Hermione up a hundred steps, she's-"

Hermione suddenly appeared in the doorway looking murderous. Her hair seemed to crackle with electricity and her eyes were sparking. "I'm what, exactly?"

"As light as a feather," Harry squeaked, his eyes bulging.

"Good." And with that she disappeared through the door, leaving Harry and Ron to exchanged frightened looks and follow her in.

The usually lofty room had been transformed. Rows of desks lined the room, one for each student of the Seventh Year, and a platform was set up at the front of the room. The heavy curtains were pulled back to allow sunlight to stream in. Overall, Harry got a happier vibe than he had gotten from the classroom than he had ever in his entire Hogwarts Career. Hermione shuddered involuntarily beside him, but she grabbed his elbow none the less and pulled him up to the front row of the desks. Ron was less agreeable with sitting near the front until Harry grabbed ahold of him and towed him along as well.

Many students in his year were already sitting down. Cho Chang, Harry noted, was in the corner talking with her friends, uncomfortably close, for his liking, to Draco Malfoy and his group of cronies. The majority of the Gryffindors were on the left side of the room, and the Hufflepuffs were scattered throughout. Reluctantly, Harry took a seat at the front of the room and waited for the rest of his classmates to file in.

To his surprise, Professor McGonagall stepped through the door of the classroom in the stern manner that only she could manage, made her way to the front of the room and onto the platform, where she cleared her throat for attention. Silence was achieved almost instantly.

"As you know, you have been gathered here today for the announcement of the new class you are to be enrolled in," Harry's, along with everyone else, curiosity piqued. "The school staff and I have had multiple discussions about House Unity. We have found that there is a particular amount of house rivalry in your year. You have begun to influence the younger students," Harry shifted in his seat uncomfortably and shot a glare over his shoulder to Malfoy, who narrowed his eyes at him.

"Due to a recent fight that has taken place, please no side comments," everyone knew about the fist fight that had broken out between Dean Thomas and Blaise Zabini, a Slytherin in their year. It ended up with both students being hospitalized for a few days. "Us teachers have decided to draw the line. This is why we have created this class."

"This 'Bonding' class, is made for you all to connect with each other, to see past your rivalry for each other and make amends," there were several groans, Harry included. This was another one of the teacher's lame attempts to get them all to make friends. He snorted to himself, the day he had a civil conversation with a Slytherin was the day that, God forbid, Hermione fell and confessed her love for Malfoy. And _that_ would never happen.

As expected, Hermione's hand shot up in the air. "Yes, Ms. Granger," Professor McGonagall called.

"I was wondering what the specifics of this class are. Materials, homework load-"

"I was getting there," McGonagall said amusedly. Several students snickered and Hermione went red in the face. "No materials except for yourself. You will have no homework, and will receive a grade at the end of this class based on your progress and effort on this project. In fact, today and tomorrow are the only times you will be in this classroom," several kids exchanged confused glances.

"Each of you will be put into groups of six people, all from mixed houses," a frown crept onto Harry's face at this. "Each group will receive a common room and dormitory, or 'home', in which you will live in for the time of the project. As you may be wondering, in this project, you and your group will be bonding. This project will last for six weeks. During each of those days, you will still be required to attend all of your classes and meals except for dinner. During the evening of each day, and this counts as part of your grade, you and your group will stay in your 'home' and eat dinner together. You will receive a set of cards on which are questions for each day of the project. Also during each evening, you and your group will pull out one card at random and tell the answer to your group. This is to help you to get to know each other better. To ensure that you are telling the truth, there has been a spell placed on the cards that forces you to tell the truth."

"That seems rough," Ron muttered.

"What if I don't get a good group?"

"Six weeks? That's a long time?"

"What kind of questions are there, do you think?"

McGonagall held up her hand for silence. "There will be other activities you will be required to do to get a complete in this class. As for some of your questions; your groups have been selected at random. We have chosen six weeks so that you can all learn and grow from this experience. As for the questions listed, you'll just have to wait and see," McGonagall said the last part with an amused and mischievous smile, which scared most of the students. Harry shuddered.

Lavender Brown raised her hand. "When will we find out who is in our groups?"

"Tomorrow, you will meet here again after lunch, where I will give you your groups and set of questions. You will go straight to your 'home's' after, and will have no more classes for the rest of the day so that you can settle in. And there are _no_ changing groups. If you have any more questions you can visit me in my office or they will be answered tomorrow. You are dismissed,"

The room immediately filled with excited chatter. Ron was less optimistic. "Off to Potions then?"

* * *

"I cannot believe it! This day is going to the dogs. First that project then Snape takes twenty points off Gryffindor because Ron sneezed! This is absurd!" Seamus complained as he stabbed his chicken with his fork menacingly.

The rest of the day hadn't gone well for the Gryffindors. By dinner, Harry had a piercing headache, and clanking of goblets and the bright candles floating above did nothing to cease it. "I bet you Snape planned out this whole thing, he's plotting to make our lives miserable for the next six weeks. I can just see it in Malfoy's smirk," Ron said darkly. He wasn't even eating, which was a bad sign. All he had done all dinnertime was stare evilly at Malfoy, who either took no notice of Ron's creepy gaze or didn't care.

"Er, Ron? For once, I've got to say that this isn't Snape's fault," Harry supplied, but it did nothing to cease Ron's glare. "Well, except for the docking points thing, but the project doesn't have much to do with him,"

"I still bet you he's twisting it in some spooky way that will end up with us all failing or dying," Ron shrugged, picking up his knife and twirling it in his fingers.

"Oh no! Failing?" Hermione squeaked.

Seamus withdrew his fork from his chicken and slammed it down on the table. "I bet you Malfoy has something up his sleeve to make this all go in his favor. I mean, look at him,"

"Gladly," a soft voice cooed from beside Hermione. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Lavender, Seamus, and basically anyone else in the area snapped their attention to the red headed girl.

"What!" Ron cried in bewilderment. Ginny shrugged lightly.

"I'm just saying, he's quite a looker,"

"This can't be happening," Ron moaned.

Lavender spoke up. "She's right, you know. I'm not saying he's not a jerk, because he is, but he is certainly easy on the eyes," she threw a look at Malfoy before turning back to the Gryffindor table.

"I hear he has a six-pack," Ginny grinned toothily. Lavender squealed and the two girls erupted into giggles.

"Those two are destined to be best friends or something," Seamus watched in alarm as the red head and Lavender discussed Malfoy's 'hotness'.

"I'd rather you date Harry," Ron was melting in a puddle of misery. He mumbled something like "What would mum think?"

Hermione frowned at the two girls, and Lavender caught her eye. "Oh come on, Hermione, I know you're stubborn but you've got to admit that Malfoy's attractive," Lavender raised an eyebrow at Hermione as she shook her head furiously. "You just keep telling yourself that," Lavender smirked and turned back to her meal.

"I hope you get paired with him so you can see how wrong you are. Imagine, what if you got to see him with his shirt off?" Ginny mused happily, and she turned back to her food humming to herself. Hermione's jaw dropped. How old was Ginny again? Was that even appropriate for her to be talking of such things? Hermione shuddered, Malfoy with his shirt off, _ugh_. She didn't care what other people thought, he was never going to be attractive in her book.

"Oh, really? Then why have you been staring at him for the past minute or so?" Ginny's voice crept into her ear, and Hermione jumped. Shaking herself out of her daze, she realized that she had said her thoughts aloud, and that she had indeed been staring at Malfoy. Her heart nearly leapt out of her chest when she realized that he was staring back. He quirked an eyebrow, making her stomach squirm, and he turned back to his friend Zabini and said something to him which made him laugh. Ginny laughed as well. "Don't worry, it was just me who noticed," Hermione breathed a sigh of relief that she wouldn't have to explain herself to her friends.

"But then again, it was _me_ who noticed, and that's not necessarily a good thing."

* * *

I know I had a note at the top, but I had to set this straight. When I first uploaded this story I understand that some of you were confused about what year everyone is in, mainly due to me switching between seventh and fifth. Sorry about that!** They are in their seventh year. I went through and edited the story to fix any errors I made (originally I had them all in fifth year, you see) so I hope thats fixed. **Thanks to those who gave me the heads up, or I wouldn't have noticed!


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: I know that Luna is not in Harry's year, but by the time that I realized my mistake it was too late into the chapter and I didn't want to change the plot line. For this story, she is in their year. The same goes for Cho Chang. **

Oh, and I don't usually update twice in one day, so don't get too attached to the idea.

On with the story!

* * *

**Chapter 2- 4 Gryffindors, a Ravenclaw, 1 Slytherin, oh my!**

Sunlight was just starting to shine in through the cracked window. Though it was warm, there was a definite chill in the air, one significant of October. Hermione shivered and wrapped her sheets tighter around herself, her intentions were to stay in bed until last moment.

About twenty minutes later, the sound of bustling awoke her again. She cracked open an eye to find Lavender and Parvati scrambling around to put on makeup and find a clean uniform. Frowning, Hermione sat up. "What time-" her stomach dropped when she saw that she had thirty minutes to get down to breakfast. "Of course," she muttered. She swung her legs over her bed and began her mad quest to prepare for her day.

Five minutes later, to Hermione's dismay, she couldn't find her skirt. She stood half clad in her uniform and half in her pajama bottoms, searching for it while tugging a brush through her hair. "Has anyone seen my skirt?"

Pavarti glanced up at her then at the clock. "You can borrow one of mine for today," she walked swiftly over to her trunk and tossed a skirt over to Hermione.

"Thanks," she smiled gratefully and ran into the bathroom. Hermione was in shock when she was bombarded by her appearance. She knew she wasn't a morning person, but this was a bit extreme, even for her. The brunette mass on her head was like a rat's nest, with the rat still living in it. Her eyes were bleary, and she had pillow marks engraved into the side of her face. By the looks of it, they were there to stay.

_This won't do_, she thought to herself. Her eyes drifted unwillingly over to where Lavender and Pavarti kept their makeup. Hermione wasn't one to wear makeup, but she also didn't want to walk around the school looking like she had been playing around with a male counterpart the previous night. Curiously, Hermione wandered over to her trunk and riffled through her belongings until she came upon a little pink bag that her mother had given her. She reasoned, _it wouldn't hurt._ Hermione cautiously reentered the bathroom with her mind set. A little makeup wouldn't hurt. It was for her own good, she wasn't trying to impress anybody. _Except it would be nice if Ron noticed, _a little voice spoke up in the back of her head.

_No, time for that later_, right now, she had a task at hand. Hermione splashed her face with water and got to work, though inexperienced, with a steady hand. The only other time she had applied makeup was for the Yule Ball.

Twenty minutes later Hermione stood in front of the full length mirror that was hanging behind the dormitory door, surveying herself. Sadly, Hermione and Parvati were not the same size. Though it was generous, the school skirt didn't go to the knees like it should have. It nearly went down a little past mid-thigh, and exposed much more skin than Hermione was comfortable with. But the rest of her mission had been completed fairly well, in Hermione's opinion. Her eyes were framed nicely with a touch of eye liner and her handy work with the mascara. After a bit of foundation, viola! Though overall happy, Hermione was slightly comfortable with her appearance, however, because it was unlike her to 'dress up' in her opinion, for other than festival occasions.

"Drastic times call for drastic measures," she said to herself as she tossed her book bag over her shoulder, walking down to breakfast with five minutes to spare.

* * *

Seamus Finnigan sat at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall. News had caught on and rippled throughout the school by the school Newspaper, the Hogwarts Rattler. It was all the talk now. Through the excitement, Seamus had a bundle of nerves in his stomach. What if he got stuck with a Slytherins? Or Malfoy? "Who could live with the rich prat for six weeks?" he muttered to himself as he swirled his pumpkin juice in his goblet.

"No one sane could," Ron grumbled. He was still dead set on the Bonding Class being Malfoy's fault. Harry would have liked to have blamed it on the platinum blonde too, but alas, some things just didn't fall on a single person to blame.

"What's the worst that could happen?" Harry tried to lighten the mood, but Ron deflated the attempt.

"Oh, I dunno, being paired with a load of Slytherins? That would be worse than being stuck with Hagrid and a Norwegian Ridgeback for an hour. Or with Trelawney and having her predict our deaths. You know, I might just rather take that instead…"

"Thanks Ron," Harry said flatly. He returned to his recreation of gazing at Cho Chang, who sat with her back turned to him. How much he would give for Cho to be in his group. Six weeks together and any uncertainty about being together would be forgotten. While Harry fantasized about his Ravenclaw beauty, Hermione slipped onto the bench beside him.

"Morning," she said cheerily. Harry didn't bother to cast her more than a glance before he returned to staring at Cho, willing her to turn around. That was until Neville gasped.

"Bloody hell,"

Harry looked up in alarm. Those words never came from Neville Longbottom's mouth under any circumstance. The rest of the Gryffindor table, along with the rest of the Great Hall, for that matter, eyes were fixed on Harry's shoulder. "Er…" he looked around uncomfortably. He tried to casually try and brush lint off his shoulder. It wasn't until a minute later that he realized that everyone was fixed on the girl beside him.

"Hermione what are they all staring a-" his mouth forgot how to form words. Hermione was, well, beautiful. She was beaming; his mind flashed back to Hermione at the Yule Ball. Every boy in the hall had his eye on her, and not just because of the creamy leg that was exposed from her shorter skirt.

"Did you, er, do something different with your hair?" Ron asked pathetically.

"Hermione! You look amazing!" Ginny squealed, and Parvati and Lavender practically launched themselves at Hermione, attacking her with questions of how she did her hair and other things that Harry didn't understand. Did Lavender just say 'eye liner'?

Shaking himself of his revere, Harry's eyes flickered up to the Slytherin table. They automatically focused on Malfoy, out of habit. What surprised him though was that Malfoy didn't meet his gaze as he usually did. Instead, he was looking with interest at Hermione. Harry's skin boiled; that git better not think about laying a finger on his best friend.

His attention was brought back to the lad across from him; he heard the distinct sound of a jaw hitting the table. Harry snorted at Ron, who was practically drooling. He calmly shoved a piece of toast in the red heads mouth to solve the problem.

* * *

Lunch time ended as quickly as it had come. Luckily for Harry and Ron, Hermione was more willing to walk up to the North Tower. This may have been because of her shorter skirt, and she didn't want to risk the boys getting a sneak peak.

The Bonding Class became less of a conversation the moment Hermione had walked through the set of doors into the Great Hall. Most of the Slytherins that usually insulted her couldn't find something to berate her about, they could only manage a not even half-hearted 'mudblood' in her direction. Ron was reacting miserably, and Harry knew that the red head would be kicking himself tomorrow. Ron had blown up at any guy that even looked at her, and nearly had a heart attack when Theodore Nott had given Malfoy a nudge in the ribs and tilted his head in Hermione's direction. Harry was actually quite amused with the whole ordeal. It was like the Yule Ball all over again. Slather on some makeup and 'bam' Hermione was the hot package.

Not that he was looking at her in a non-brotherly way. Where would that put him?

So as the rest of the seventh years quieted themselves as they waited for McGonagall to announce their groups, Harry busied himself with protectively guarding Hermione from any harm a boy could inflict on her, may it be a wandering eye or a full on gape.

Hermione's stomach was a bundle of nerves. Every time she saw an eye move towards her, she squirmed. It was certainly not helping that her fate for the next few weeks lay in McGonagall's hands. Who would she be with? Hermione prayed that she would get a good group, perhaps Harry and Ron, possibly a nice girl like Susan Bones…

"Attention please," McGonagall's sharp voice cut through the air like a knife. Silence filled the classroom immediately, and Hermione had never felt more isolated in the North Tower. Clearing her throat leisurely, McGonagall grabbed a piece of parchment from her desk. It was time to announce the groups. "Now, after I call out your name and the following members of your group, one of you must get the location of your dormitory from me, along with your set of questions. When I finish, you may all proceed to your dormitories. Understood? Very well, we will begin,"

Hermione glanced over at Ron who gave her a quirky smile and a thumbs up that she knew said "We'll be together, don't worry!" She smiled at him in return and sucked in her breath like everyone else.

"Bones, Crabbe, Nott, Vane, Thomas, Greengrass," she called out. The group of six somberly stood, and Daphne Greengrass received a parchment and a stack of cards from McGonagall. They slumped to the back of the room, and Hermione began to pray that her group wasn't like such. The rest of the class shifted uncomfortably; she could practically feel the tension oozing off of them all.

"Zabini, Pavarti Patil, Weasley, Chang, and Parkinson,"

Ron's stomach dropped. He was stuck with two snakes? This wouldn't be an easy six weeks. He and Harry exchanged glances, Harry begging him to stay cool in a way only a best friend could understand. Surprisingly, Ron nodded, and patted the groaning Hermione's hand.

Harry's eyes followed Cho as she swept to the front of the room, impossibly gracefully he noticed, to stand before McGonagall before going to the back of the room like the last group. Harry gritted his teeth as he watched Zabini eye her back side with interest. If he even thought about touching her…

His chest suddenly deflated in defeat. If Zabini even thought about touching her, which he clearly had, what would he do about it? Zabini had the most athletic build in their year, besides Malfoy, Harry admitted jealously. Unfortunately, the Slytherins bodies, looks, and bad boy allure attracted all the girls, and Harry could see his dream of having Cho as his girlfriend plummeting. Six weeks with a lady killer would do Cho's and Harry's potential relationship no good.

"Finnigan, Brown, Potter, Granger, Lovegood, and Malfoy," Harry grinned and sat up, until he was given a whack upside the head.

He wheeled around. "Ouch! Hermione, what was that for?" the brunette glared at him in response.

"You're smiling like an idiot after we've been paired with _Malfoy_, for Merlin's sake pray tell man_, why does that make you happy?_"

Harry's smile faded from his face as he took in her words. "…We've been paired with Malfoy," he said. Hermione nodded vigorously, her brown eyes like a deer in the headlights.

"That's it, I'm transferring," Harry dead panned. He made to stand up, but Hermione attached a vice-like grip to his arm. He whimpered slightly as he was shoved back into his seat.

Around the room, whispering was beginning. Why would McGonagall pair Malfoy with Harry Potter and Hermione Granger? What good would come out of this, only chaos, of course? Harry was slightly offended; he didn't think McGonagall had a death wish for him.

This was on the Gryffindor half of the room, on the other end, the back corner to be exact, was a different story.

"What?! That's completely unfair! Draco, you can't be the only Slytherin in that group. They'll gang up on you, you won't make it out alive!" a dark haired boy pulled at his hair, his eyes darting around frantically like a caged wild animal.

"Blaise, calm down," Draco put up his hands to calm his best mate.

"He has a point, Draco," Pansy spoke quietly from beside him, putting a hand on his arm. Flinching, Draco breathed out a sigh and slumped back in his chair carefully to ease away from the contact.

"I know,"

Pansy's face contorted into slight offense but more understanding. She immediately withdrew her hand and put it in her lap.

Blaise, still not completed with his rant, continued. "This is insane! You should complain, and if you don't, I will! I won't have my best mate at the mercy of two thirds of the Golden trio, a girl with a duo-color name, an Irish step dancer, and a girl who is bat crazy!"

Blaise would have continued if Draco hadn't given him the 'just cool it would you' look and Pansy hadn't clamped her hand over his mouth. The Italian was muffled for a few brief moments of relief.

Back in the front of the room…

"That git, I don't trust him. He's going to make our lives miserable, I tell you, he probably planned this entire thing!" Harry was steaming at the ears like a locomotors. He was squeezing the life out of his book bag, which was now clenched to his chest. In an effort to save the books, Hermione began to pry the bag away and say calmly,

"Honestly, Harry, I doubt he's going to try anything. He's the only Slytherin. He's crazy if he thinks he can pull anything off. And weren't you the one defending him last night, saying that he couldn't have possibly planned this? Please don't lose your head over this,"

Once Hermione had successfully gotten the books a safe distance from Harry, she let go of her breath. Everything would be okay, except if you counted for the fact that she was stuck with Malfoy for the next forty-two days. She spared a glance over her shoulder to where she knew him to be sitting. It was a peculiar sight, Parkinson had her hand clenched to Zabini's mouth, was she fighting back a smile? Zabini appeared rather flustered, unlike his usual emotionless self, and Malfoy himself was a mask of annoyance. However, Hermione could see that he was chewing on his lip nervously, and his eyes full of expression; anxious. _Odd_, Hermione thought, _he's usually an expressionless mask, matching Zabini to a T._

"Silence!" McGonagall's voice pierced Hermione's ears, causing her to wince. "Miss Brown, if you will," she waved a piece of parchment and a stack of cards in front of her impatiently. Lavender scurried to the front of the room and accepted them quickly.

For the rest of the class Hermione was automatically going through all of the pros and cons of having to live with Malfoy for the next six weeks.

_Cons__: It's Malfoy, obviously_

_ He's a ferret_

_ He's mean_

_ Called me a Mudblood_

_ He's a ferret_

_ It's Malfoy_

_ Has the potential to attack us while innocently sleeping_

_ He's a ferret_

_Pros__: …_

_ …._

_There is a slight, practically non-existent chance that he has a miniscule amount of attractiveness…._

"Hermione. Hermione! We've been dismissed, and we're supposed to head to our rooms," Harry shook her shoulder, jostling her out of her daze.

She gasped. "Oh!" and stood up, nearly knocking poor Harry down in the process. "Let's go!" she said, grabbing Harry's hand and pulling him out the door. Once on the staircase, they waited for the rest of their group to file out.

"Can you believe this? We're stuck with Malfoy," Seamus said in disgust. Lavender shrugged.

"At least we are all together," and threw a wink at Hermione from over her shoulder. For some reason, Hermione didn't think Lavender would let up on the Draco-Malfoy-is-friggin-Sexy motto anytime soon. Brushing hair out of her face, Hermione said determinedly,

"Let's look at those directions,"

Lavender pulled out the parchment and read, "Go to the fourth floor. Though your group may find it hard to cooperate with your splitting personalities, remember that _three heads are better than one_," everyone waited for her to continue, but she had stopped short.

"And…?" Seamus prompted, and Lavender shook her head.

"That's all that's written,"

Hermione frowned. "What? But that doesn't make sense! What portrait do we find? That leaves so many options, and the east wing is huge! How are we supposed to find it when we don't even know what is looks like?" Her eyebrows scrunched together in thought.

"I bet this is the beginning of the 'team building'," Harry said miserably and Seamus nodded as well.

"It's a riddle, of course," a dreamy voice said from behind the four Gryffindors. They spun around to find the two other members of their group. Draco Malfoy was leaning against the wall casually, and Luna was sitting cross legged near his feet, her face vacant as usual. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Obviously," she couldn't retain her frustration. She despised that Luna was so incapable of seeing logic, always tramping about the school talking of nonsense like nargles.

"That's one stupid riddle," Seamus muttered. "We can't even make sense of it,"

"That's usually the point," Draco raised an eyebrow at the Irish boy. Seamus frowned and clenched his fists, but Lavender stepped in.

"And we'll never make sense of it unless we try to figure it out _together_," she emphasized the word. Draco frowned in annoyance yet curiosity, along with her fellow peers; Lavender being the peace maker? What happened to the ditzy blonde?

"Okay," Hermione took a deep breath. "We should start by looking at the word choice. Our 'splitting personalities' and then the 'Three heads are better than one'? 'Split personalities' is usually used to describe one person with many different sides to them. But three heads are better than one? There are more than three heads here," she pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Maybe it's hinting at someone in our group being a git," Seamus directed a glare at Malfoy. "I agree with it," Lavender gave him a sharp jab to his ribs with her elbow.

"He's not doing anything to you. _Behave_," she said strictly, and he shrunk back like a scared pup.

"I bet its talking about the entrance to our common room. It must be a painting,"

"That still doesn't tell us anything. A painting with split personalities? How is that possible?"

"On the fourth floor, all of its portraits are all dedicated to honorable wizards and witches from our history," Draco supplied, stunning the Gryffindors with his civility. Not only were those words spoken with a smirk, but with an ounce of civility.

Seamus cut Draco off. "Yeah, well, that really narrows it down, don't it?" he said sharply, causing Draco roll his eyes. Ah, there was the smirk.

"Think about it, the word choice, like Granger said. Our 'splitting personalities' and not to mention the 'Three heads are better than one.' Who is the wizard famous for his split personalities? Ring a bell to you, Potter? It should," Draco looked at Harry pointedly, whose face took on a rather dumb expression.

"Er…" he scratched the back of his neck.

"Edward Rabnott," Luna smiled at them all in a very disorienting way. "He has at least three different personalities, and they always bicker with each other,"

Draco nodded impatiently. "His portrait originally had a passage from the fourth to the seventh floor, but maybe they redid it and made it our common room,"

Everyone went silent. "I say we go with it," Lavender suggested, and Luna nodded happily.

Harry, ever suspicious, narrowed his eyes. "How do we know you are telling the truth?"

Draco arched a perfect eyebrow then smirked. "What good would that do me? That would just waste more of my time. And honestly, lying about the location of a portrait? Grow up, Potter," his tone was slightly exasperated, surprising the other five.

"But how'd you know about the passageway? You must have used it, how'd you find it?" Hermione prodded as Draco headed towards the staircase.

"How'd you find the Chamber of Secrets?" he shot back. She went silent, and Draco took that as dismissal. He turned his back and swiftly descended the stairs. Annoyed, Hermione glanced around at her group; Luna was swaying, Seamus still submissive, Harry slightly suspicious, and Lavender the winking at Hermione and gesturing to Draco's butt. Which she had to admit did look pretty nice in those pants.

Glaring at Lavender, Hermione lifted her chin and followed after Draco, her group close behind her.

The trip to the fourth floor was tense. Aside from Luna dawdling in the back, perhaps looking for hinklepuffs or whatever strange creature she created in her mind, and Draco who was keeping his distance from them. It wasn't until they were on the third floor that Seamus leaned over to Hermione and said in a low voice,

"I don't like this. I don't want to have to talk with Malfoy for this long. What if he uses something against me?"

Harry asked, "Like what?"

"Like dark secrets?" Hermione supplied helpfully. Seamus nodded seriously, while Lavender smirked.

"And what dark secrets do you have Hermione?"

"Why is she blushing…?" Harry squeaked.

"I don't like the idea of Malfoy knowing any dark secrets of mine," Seamus said uncomfortably before anything could get awkward for Hermione. She thanked him excessively in her head, he had saved her from a long explanation…

"Trust me, he doesn't like it either," Harry said flatly. The four turned their gazes to the figure of Draco Malfoy, which was a good ten yards in front of them.

Draco gritted his teeth; his life would be hell the next six weeks, and it was all for a stupid class. _Bonding_ _class_, he scoffed, who would actually make an effort to try? Especially with the group he got stuck with, Draco could see their 'bonding' getting nowhere fast. Why on earth had a lone Slytherin been trapped within a lions' den? He believed that McGonagall wouldn't lie to the students, but there was something that struck Draco about this entire thing that was pre-planned. Plotted, was a better word. Draco shuddered, he never associated plotting with anything good.

A slight hop followed by a flounce of blonde hair caught the corner of his eye. He jumped a little at the sudden presence of another beside him. "Hello, Draco. Funny thing, you being singled out with all of us, isn't it?" Luna smiled brightly.

For the first time in days, Draco cracked what could be recognized as a smile if one squinted their eyes enough. "Hilarious," he said to the familiar blonde. Though many did not know of it, the two had a sort of friendship. It was a bit unstable and fragile around the edges, but Draco could rely on her, and she could rely on him.

Their civility started back in fifth year. Draco had been in the courtyard, waiting for Blaise to be released from detention. He had started wandering, and soon found himself before a band of Ravenclaws.

* * *

_The sun was getting lower, but Draco knew he couldn't mistake the white blonde hair and curls of Luna Lovegood. She stood in the middle of the group of Ravenclaws, perhaps there were seven or eight of them. Draco would have usually not paid any thought to this, as it was a Ravenclaw with fellow Ravenclaws, what was unusual about that? She looked smaller than usual, within the crowd. But he had stopped when he saw the look on her face. Her face, it mirrored an expression of his own that he was all too familiar with. The Ravenclaws were sneering, their lips curled as they spat at her. Her small hands fluttered near her pocket, ready to grip her wand if needed, as her big blue eyes gazed around. The vacant look she usually wore was gone, she was all too aware of what was happening._

_And so was Draco._

_Her housemates, who were supposed to stand up for her, were tearing her down. They were closing in around her as she shrunk further and further within herself. Usually, this sort of thing didn't bother Draco in the slightest. It was a daily occurrence that he was used to. But something struck him odd about this situation. Maybe it was because she was all alone, looking vulnerable and almost human and connected to reality, or maybe it was because everyone surrounding her was male. Draco shook his head, what did he care about the little Loon? _

_Hypocritically, Draco couldn't stand bullies. The Malfoy certainly wasn't the kindest person around, but he never ganged up on someone, especially a girl. He did have limits. He knew he couldn't leave any person, especially an innocent girl, to fend for herself amongst a threatening crowd. _

_A particularly offensive jab at her sanity cut through the air, and before he knew what he was doing, Draco had immersed himself into the situation. "Hey!" Draco called, stepping forward. No turning back now, he grumbled to himself. He had no idea what he was doing, or why he was doing it. The Ravenclaws turned, surprised. Now that Draco could see them clearly, he knew they were a few years below him. Lower years had never intimidated him before, but one guy against eight people? That was a battle already lost. Never one for heroism or saving damsel in distresses, Draco asked himself again why he was even doing this. He would surely be accused of going soft for this. The look of relief that flooded across Luna's face and how it made it worth it to stand and face them added to his confusion. _

_Draco put on a sneer and said in a sleek voice, "What do you think you're doing?" _

_A few of the fourth years visibly trembled. Draco rolled his eyes as one, who was quite chubby in the face, he noted, stuttered. "We, uh, were just, um…" One of his mates saved him._

"_We are just hanging out, Malfoy," he sneered. Draco raised an eyebrow, not liking the ego that was radiating off the kid. He lifted his chin. "Why don't you bugger off and go fondle yourself or something," this earned laughs from the other kids. _

_Draco, having grown up in Slytherin house and the Malfoy household, was not affected. "Did you come up with that one all by yourself?" he said sarcastically. The boy's face tightened in anger. _

"_You think you're so big and tough, I think we should teach you a lesson," the boy went for his wand, but Draco beat him too it. In a quick flourish, he had his wand out and in a dueling position._

"_Try me," he said in an impossibly calm voice. The boy's eyes widened, clearly taken aback. He had obviously not thought that Draco would rise to the challenge. His friends started to shift their weight, and Draco had a quiet laugh to himself at the sight of them dancing around. He knew that they were well aware of his dueling history: not a single defeat, unless he counted the unrecorded bathroom incident. When he was in first year Draco had disarmed a fourth year, and deflated the fourth year's ego along with it. It was no wonder that the Ravenclaws were getting anxious. _

"_Bastard," the boy muttered, before nodding in agreement to his friends and quietly slipping off in the opposite direction, as far from Draco as possible. Draco frowned to himself; it was one thing to lash out verbally; he hated threatening physical punishment onto others. It made him feel uneasy and reminded him far too much of unpleasant memories. _

_Squirming slightly, Draco turned to look at the reason for his 'heroics'. Luna was gazing at him with curiosity. Great, he thought, how was he supposed to explain himself now? He wasn't known for saving damsels in distress, standing up for people in general, rather._

"_The wrackspurts seem to like you," she said, her voice distractingly light despite the previous situation. Draco scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. How the hell was he supposed to respond to that? He didn't know what he'd do if she started blubbering about nargles, but he supposed that it was better than her groveling at his feet. _

"_Thank you," she added lightly, as if sensing his thoughts. Damn. _

"_Er, yeah. Anytime," he said without thought. He face palmed when he realized how dumb he sounded. Luna didn't seem to mind though. She stood a little taller and came to stand directly in front of him. Draco took a small step back at her closeness, not liking the proximity._

"_You have lots of Blibbering Humdingers floating around your head. You must have a lot on your mind. They can make your brain all fuzzy if they get in your ears, you know," her eyes were fixed on some point next to his ear._

"_Right, er, what?" Draco repressed the urge to itch his ear or wave around it. _

_Luna switched her eyes so they were focused on his instead. "Blibbering Humdinger,"_

_Now that was even more disorienting. "__What__?"_

"_Blibbering Humdinger,"_

"_Right," Draco nodded slowly, realizing he would have to accept that as an answer. "Um, about before…" honestly, he needed to brush up on his social skills. He was an intimidator, not a socializer. _

"_I won't tell anyone," Luna said airily. Draco nodded, suppressing a shiver as the cool air finally bit his skin. The sun was almost down now, and the sky was painted a million colors. Blaise would be looking for him now. _

"_But that's not what I…does that sort of thing happen often?" Draco concluded lamely. Great, now the girl was going to think he actually cared for him._

_Luna gave him a look that seemed to say that she knew something he didn't. To be honest, it rode on his nerves. "Have you ever heard the phrase sticks and stones may break my bones, but words may never hurt me?"_

"_Of course," Draco wondered where this was going. "But-"_

"_I'll see you in class!" she chirped, before spinning on her heel and skipping away, Draco's sentence hanging unfinished in the cool air surrounding him._

* * *

From then on, Draco and Luna had slowly developed a friendship, even if it were in a barely noticeable way. This is why Draco let the little blonde walk beside him as they made their way to the fourth floor.

* * *

**So yeah, I wanted to expand on Draco and Luna's sort of companionship, I felt like he needed someone (by the way, sorry that he was pretty OOC in that flashback) I ended up cutting this chapter short, I know it's a bit of a weird place to end the chapter :p oh well**.

Anyways, thanks to my first three lovely reviewers **chellywood**, **WriteAllAboutIt**, and **shaymars** :) You guys are great!


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3- In the Common Room**

"So this is it?" Seamus asked in his Irish twang. Lavender turned to him and shrugged, blushing slightly when she noticed he was already looking at her. She looked away quickly, scolding herself. _He was not looking at you like __that__, don't flatter yourself, Lavender._

"I guess," Harry shrugged, watching the three heads of Edward Rabnott as they battled it out.

"_But I'm always right!" _

"_No I'm always right!" _

"_That means you're wrong,"_

"_How am I wrong if I'm always right?"_

"_Because you're wrong!"_

"_You're wrong about always being right because you're wrong,"_

"_No you-!"_

"Hey!" Seamus called nosily, cupping his hands around his mouth. The three heads stopped and turned to the boy irritably.

"_What do you want_?" the one on the far right asked rudely.

"_Oh, don't mind him, he's always a git at this time of day,"_

"_Now I beg your pardon-"_

"Sweet Merlin," Draco moaned and ran a hand through his hair. Hermione shifted on her feet uncomfortably; why did that have action have to look so damn becoming on him? Flushing in the face, Hermione cast her eyes away from the blonde as fast as she could. Unfortunately, she made eye contact with Lavender, who did not pass the little exchange unnoticed. Wiggling her eyebrows suggestively, Hermione looked away nervously, flushing a bit brighter.

"Er…thanks," Seamus mumbled as he got the full attention of Edward Rabnott, er, Rabnotts. He awkwardly cleared his throat, it was a loud gritty sound, and Luna started to whistle a loopy tune in the silence.

"So, uh, open sesame?"

Harry decided to take charge. "We have to make a password. Hermione- hey, why are you so red?" Harry said obliviously. All eyes turned to her, and she flushed some more as a pair of stormy eyes quirked an eyebrow at her.

"It's quite warm in here, that's all," she brushed it off as casually as only a book worm could. Right about now she wanted to knock the glasses off of Harry's nose. Honestly, boys could be so ignorant. "Anyhow, we all need to decide on a password. After we can go in,"

"Obviously," Draco muttered under his breath.

Hermione shot him a look. "As I was saying…has anyone got any ideas?"

"How about ferret? Or better yet, the amazing bouncing ferret?" Harry growled.

"I like the idea of hippogriff," Seamus chimed in smartly. Hermione frowned. They could at least try to be civil! She turned to Draco, fully expecting him to be sneering and have a prepared verbal assault on his tongue. But he didn't. He was just…standing there. His blonde hair fell in front of his eyes as he stared at a spot on the wall a distance in front of him, hands shoved deep in his pockets. Hermione couldn't tell if he was actually with them or not, his mind seemed elsewhere.

She frowned; he looked so vulnerable in that moment. There was something about Draco that had completely changed. The air around him wasn't as confident, and his broad shoulders were forward slightly. The downward tilt of his mouth worried Hermione.

"Boys," Hermione said sternly, trying to shake the image of Draco out of her head. "We need to think of a password if we want to eat tonight-"

"Blibbering Humdinger has a nice ring to it, don't you agree?" Luna's voice interrupted her own. Startled, Hermione turned to the elusive blonde, who had been silent the whole ordeal. To her even greater surprise, Draco was giving the girl a knowing look, as if they shared a joke.

It was also quite alarming that Hermione realized that Draco was _very_ attractive as he did that.

"Oh, I see what you mean, Hermione. I do feel it's getting hotter in here," Lavender's mouth was right near Hermione's ear, causing her to jump. Smirking, Lavender turned her eyes back to the sexy blonde. She would have him before the end of this.

"I second that," the man in question said. Hermione's eyes bulged before she realized that Draco was speaking of the password choice, not himself.

Seamus shrugged. "Odd enough that I'll be sure to remember it. How about you Harry, Lavender?" The latter nodded and the former shrugged with indifference. "It's set then. Blubbering Humdunger!" Seamus waited patiently for the portrait to swing open. When Edward (the one on the left) eyed him amusedly, Seamus frowned.

"What?" he asked. "Why isn't it working?"

"I believe its Blibbering Humdinger, not Blubbering Humdunger, Seamus," Harry coughed from the side. Growling to himself, Seamus restated the name of the nonexistent creature, and with a nod of annoyance, Edward Rabnotts' three heads allowed the group inside their new home.

Harry and Seamus stepped aside and allowed ladies into the portrait first, but when Draco was the only person left standing outside, they promptly stepped in front of him. Heaving a fatigued sigh, Draco just managed to give both boys a death glare that had Seamus beating it towards the common room. This was going to be a long 42 days, especially since he had to spend it with this lot; that is, if he didn't strangle them all first.

As Draco stepped through portrait, the first thing his eyes took in was the warm glow of the fireplace casting orange shapes along the walls. It created an overall friendly feel for the room. The next were the little white candles enchanted to float above their heads like twinkling stars. He raised his eyebrows; someone must have put a lot of thought into this.

In front of the fireplace were two couches, each comfortably seating three people. Alongside those were two armchairs, both looking desirably comfortable to sink into. On the back wall were three desks, on which new quills, parchment, and their own books were lined up orderly on the gleaming mahogany surface. In the back corner was a small kitchenette. The walls were a calming pale blue, and Draco thanked whoever had decorated that it wasn't a Gryffindor dominant room.

Further in was a large oak table, presumably for their dinner time rendezvous. He watched as Hermione set the stack of cards down on, then pushed her hair out of her face with delicate fingers. He turned his eyes away, and they flickered over to the fireplace. Draco's dark grey eyes scanned the mantle above; it was full of pictures.

"Oh gods," Harry said as he followed Draco's line of sight. Draco raised an eyebrow and moved closer, along with the rest of their group, to better survey the photographs.

Harry had immediately spotted a picture of himself; his spectacled eyes peeked out from under a mop of raven hair, unruly as ever. The young Harry had a toothy grin on his face, his eyes bright as he proudly held his first broomstick. The photograph had evidently been taken before his first Quidditch game, his red and gold insignia uniform clashing against the green pitch in the background. The picture next to it was of Ron, Harry and Hermione, arms looped through each other's as they smiled happily. It was snowing, and people milled about behind them; it was most likely taken in Hogsmede.

There was also one of Seamus at home with his family, and another in the Gryffindor tower boys dormitory, fiddle pulled out as he played furiously, Dean Thomas and Ron dancing a jig.

A capture of Lavender before the Yule ball, looking graceful as ever, and one of her and the Patil twins at a party. There was still of Hermione and her parents at home, and then the Golden Trio in their first year, smiling innocently at the camera until Ron picked his nose. Luna and her father in a field with large bug catching nets, probably searching for some strange creature, and then one of a young Luna, about the age of seven, and a woman they could assume was her mother, smiling brightly.

And then finally,

"Is that…Malfoy?"

"Damn boy," Lavender said in a sultry voice. Draco had an amused look on his face at the shocked faces of his group members. The Gryffindor threw him a wink, which caused him to chuckle softly, something he hadn't done for the past few days.

The Gryffindors stared at the moving picture of the Slytherin Prince. It was of him, Blaise Zabini, and Pansy Parkinson. The three Purebloods were sitting on a sofa, and all three were practically dying with laughter. It was almost haunting, laughter without noise.

Not only was it shocking to see an actual smile on Draco's face, but he and the other two friends were in muggle clothes. He looked completely different from the ice cold mask he usually wore. His grey eyes were dancing and light, and his face was positively glowing. Lavender sighed to herself, he was gorgeous. Blaise looked like a whole new person; his face was stress free for the first time they had ever seen him. He no longer had the permanent solemn look about him. And Pansy, she looked beautiful. Her face was not scrunched up in the characteristic sneer they had come to now. Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans surrounded them, along with a deck of cards that showed they were playing…Go Fish?

"I…I didn't know you could smile," Harry said lamely.

"Or laugh, besides an evil one, I mean, like, _mwahahahah_ or something," continued Lavender.

Draco raised a perfect eyebrow. "_Mwahaha_?" No one answered him. He scowled.

The final picture on the ornate mantel was of Draco, Blaise, and Theodore Nott. They were jumping off a rock into the crystal blue water below. The picture was a still, surprisingly, and it captured the three boys in various positions mid-jump. Draco was holding a finger gun, one leg kicked out in a ninja pose. Theo was in the famous 'Thinker' statue position, which seemed quite hard to do in mid-air. Blaise had his arms and legs spread out wide like a five-point star.

"Where is that?" Lavender pointed to the picture. "It's beautiful there,"

"Italy," Draco replied.

"You look tan," her eyes swept his body, which did look very good indeed. Her eyes focused on his bare abdomen, and she swooned. Harry and Seamus mumbled in envy.

"He's actually still kinda tan. I mean, his skin's got this nice golden glow to it, instead of being pale like usual," the words slipped out of Hermione's mouth before she could control it. Everyone stared at her. Harry was shocked, Lavender gleeful, Seamus suspicious, Luna- well, Luna wasn't really looking at her- and Draco was bit perplexed.

However, he saved her from explanation, though it probably wasn't intentionally. "It was during the summer, this past one, actually," a smirk crept onto Draco's face as Hermione looked away, heated. What was wrong with her? She wasn't one to let her emotions- ones that shouldn't even exist towards this evil Slytherin- control her! But she found her eyes wandering back to the photograph. They looked so different from the usual ice cold Slytherins they were all used to. It was a…nice change.

Hermione tore her eyes away from the mantel, her face glowing red. She quickly turned and went to the stairs. "I'm going to go check out our rooms," she called. Everyone shrugged, it seemed like a good idea. They followed her up the spiraling staircase in the back of the room. Lavender caught up to her.

"What was that back there?" she asked her, her voice low. Hermione looked around in alarm, but thankfully they were out of earshot from anybody else.

The brunette searched for words. "Nothing! I was just…"

"Checking Draco out?" finished Lavender.

"_Being observant_," Hermione hissed, before rushing in a flurry to the door marked 'Hermione'. Lavender smirked knowingly at the inexperienced girl before going to her own door. 'Lavender' was written in elegant script on a gold plague on the door. She pushed it open, eager to see where she would be staying for the next six weeks of her life.

The first thing she felt was the soft white rug underneath her feet. Lavender squished her toes into it happily; she had always begged her parents for a rug such as this. The walls were paneled and white, and created a homey feel to it. Lavender ran in a jumped onto the bed, giggling as she bounced up and down on her knees. She was going to love this bed. This was definitely a perk, as the beds in the girls' dormitory back at Gryffindor Tower were not what one would could comfortable. It was also a relief to have soft pink sheets, instead of the glaring red ones she had grown too used to.

She gazed around. The armoire stood off to one side, there was a bookshelf; Hermione would surely have that full in no time, Lavender noted smugly; and a window that provided a lovely view of the grounds. To her surprise, it was getting darker outside already. Time had passed very fast. Lavender looked around a little more. She was happy with her room, except for one thing. Where was the bathroom?

Frowning, the curly blonde stood up. She went to the door and poked her head out, finding that the rest of her group was doing the same.

"If there is no bathroom here I might die," Lavender said dramatically. Hermione rolled her eyes, used to the theatrics of her dorm mate.

"Well, you wouldn't die right away, but you could get a urinal track infection from holding your pee for a certain amount of time-" Luna began. Lavender crinkled her nose and Hermione hurriedly interrupted.

"Of course there's a bathroom," Hermione said in a 'duh' voice. She motioned over to the over side of the hallway. Indeed there was. One wooden door without a label stood open for use.

Lavender felt a surge of annoyance at Hermione's haughty tone. She caught Draco's eye from across the way, noticing that he too had let out a huff of impatience. When he caught her looking at him, he gave her a sneer. A light blush marred Lavender's cheek bones, and she quickly looked away.

Across the hallway, Seamus's eyes flickered from Lavender to Draco. He regarded them hotly.

This was going to be a long forty-two days.

* * *

"Sweet Merlin, yes!" came the euphoric cry of Harry Potter. It disturbed Seamus's ears greatly. Maybe it was just his perverted mind, but that cry had sounded like one of pure ecstasy, such as one given whilst performing sexual acts. Now, Seamus wouldn't put it past Harry if sexual acts were being performed at this moment; the boy had an alarming obsession with Malfoy. Every morn' their eyes would lock across the Great Hall at breakfast, and they would glare at each other until those sitting near eventually cowered. Seamus was a simple man, he understood that being locked up with Malfoy for the next six weeks may be too much on Harry, so Harry would only be fit to succumb to his attractions and-

"Out of my way, Finnigan," someone pushed past him. Seamus was broken out of his rather disturbing thoughts as a blonde head shouldered past him. So, maybe those speculations weren't true. Seamus slapped himself mentally. Had he really just imagined the image of Malfoy spooning with Harry?

Seamus groaned, before climbing down the staircase after Malfoy to see what had caused Harry's outburst.

In the common room, Hermione was rolling her eyes at Harry, batting his hands away from the luxurious platters of food on the dining table. The Irish's mouth watered at the sight, now realizing the cause of Harry's glee.

"No, Harry! We must wait for everyone to sit down at the table. Now sit down, or no dessert for you," Hermione said strictly. Harry moped, but did as he was told.

Wise words of the day: never stand between a man and his meal. Unless you're Hermione Granger.

Seamus decided to do as Hermione instructed also, he didn't want to test how far she would go for rule enforcement. Luna drifted over as well, as did Draco and Hermione stationed herself in a seat too.

The dining table had three seats on both sides, and comfortably sat the six of them. Hermione was currently in the middle of Harry and Draco. Across from her directly was Seamus, to his right was Luna, and the empty seat was for Lavender.

"Lavender! Get your arse down here, I'm starving!" Seamus bellowed up the stairs. Hermione shot him a scathing look.

"Language," she said sharply, and he shrunk back a little in his seat.

"I want food!" Harry banged his knife and fork on the table like a little boy. Hermione looked at him in disbelief.

"Don't act so childish, Harry, and be patient, both of you,"

However, Seamus had decided that the line was catchy. They both began banging on the table, chanting, "We want food! We want food!"

Hermione inclined her head in respect for Godric Gryffindor and Draco leaned over and asked in a low voice,

"Does this usually happen?"

Hermione giggled and gave Draco a little swat to the knee. "It might," she said guiltily. A shadow crossed over Draco's face as he used his shirt sleeve to wipe off where she had touched him. That's what snapped Hermione back in to reality. Did she just _giggle_? At _Draco Malfoy_, Pureblood Extraordinaire? She never giggled or flirted, let alone with her arch nemesis. And, dear Merlin, did she just _touch_ him willingly? This would not do. She would have to keep her distance from the blonde. Maybe after dinner she would read about love potions; that was the only explanation for her behavior, correct? Besides, she could brush up on her knowledge about them, seeing as they were bound to study them in potions sometime this year.

Hermione immediately composed herself. She turned to the stairs instead. What was taking Lavender so long? Did she really need to primp for dinner? She wasn't even leaving the common room, for Godric's sake! Hermione rolled her eyes as Lavender flounced down the stairs.

"About time," Harry muttered darkly, his eyes narrowing under his round glasses. Draco's eyes widened noticeably.

Wise words of the day: never stand between a man and his meal. Unless you're Hermione Granger.

Lavender turned her nose up to Harry snootily and gracefully sat down next to Seamus. He seemed all too pleased to sit next to her. Hermione regarded the blonde girl with a tad bit of jealousy. Her perfume wafted up over the smell of the dinner and put Seamus in a fix. Her hair curled delicately, and settled softly down her shoulder blades. The light pink sweater she was wearing hugged her curves, Hermione noticed in envy, and she was sure all the males at the table noticed too. Harry had torn his eyes off of the chicken fettuccini alfredo to look at her, and Draco's eyes even flitted up at her when she had arrived.

For some reason, this bothered Hermione very much.

"Now that we're all here," Hermione almost snarled out the last bit. Harry jumped in surprise, almost knocking over his pumpkin juice. "We can begin,"

The clanging of silverware filled the air. But besides the mumbles of 'Pass the bread' or 'This is delicious shit' or 'Language!' the occupants were drowning in an awkward silence. It finally occurred to them all that this was actually happening. They had all felt that they were in some sort of dream (or nightmare) and they would all soon wake up in their dormitory beds with the shabby curtains. But that wasn't going to happen in about forty-two days.

Harry decided to break the silence and become a connoisseur. "Hmm, Chicken Fettuccini Alfredo, what a meal! This savory, sautéed chicken is cooked in a cheesy, creamy sauce. How delectable! You know, if this was served on a French bread, (pass the bread, will you Seamus?) with some Roma tomatoes, ah! Party in my mouth!"

An even more awkward silence followed, but Harry paid no mind. He chomped on his chicken while the others watched him silently. As he went in for a particularly large bite (he was trying to stuff a piece of chicken about the size of his face in his mouth) he seemed to notice that everyone was staring at him. "What?" he asked, his fork levitating in mid-air.

Hermione mumbled something about Ronald's eating habits rubbing off on people.

Draco had raised an eyebrow and suppressed a shudder. 'Party in my mouth?' He never wanted to hear those words spoken by the Boy-Who-Just-Won't-Die ever again.

Seamus was encouraging Harry to try and stuff more food in his mouth.

Lavender was watching the latter in disgust, and keeping a steady eye on Draco.

Luna was staring off into the distance speaking of Hinky-Punks.

Finally, an especially heavy silence settled on them all. Everyone had finished, and now no one knew what to do. They all stared at each other as if waiting for someone to make the first move.

Draco pushed his chair back roughly, standing up from the table. "As much as I'd love to spend more quality time with you bunch," he began sarcastically, heading towards the stairs.

Harry gritted his teeth. "Do us the favor and leave, no one wants you here, anyways,"

Draco paused at the stairs. "Oh, Potter, you wound my heart," he clutched a hand to his chest, before giving them all a sneer and disappearing up the stairs.

"He's as moody as a girl," Seamus muttered. "I still can't believe we have to deal with him for the next six weeks,"

"I'm still hoping this is all a bad dream," Harry told them as he took off his glasses and polished them. Hermione couldn't help but agree.

* * *

**Sorry the ending was a bit rushed! I wanted to give you guys something to read because I don't know when I'll have time to write more :/**

**Anyways, review review review! It's great to hear your feedback!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4- The First Question**

**Let the Games Begin**

Humming a happy tune to herself, Hermione plopped down on her bed, book in hand. Dressed in her frumpy yet comfortable pajamas that she adored; a baggy red T and simple pants with cows printed on them (the cow pants, as she called them, were a joke gift from her father for Christmas one year); Hermione had decided to read up on Love Potions (of course, she also did have academic purposes in mind, as well as personal.)

Knowing that she was over reacting by a long shot, Hermione sighed and flipped open the book on Love Potions. She wanted to allow herself to get lost in the book after the strange dinner. As she leafed through the pages, she realized how silly she was being. Honestly, she couldn't be under a love potion; she would be acting differently if Malfoy had truly slipped her some, which he wouldn't have had the chance to do in the first place. So that meant that her feelings; or infatuation whatever it was; were genuine. Hermione sighed, happy with her conclusion until…

Wait, what? _Genuine feelings for Draco Malfoy!?_

Hermione fell off her bed.

Rubbing her sore bum, she sat up from her new spot on the floor. Hermione didn't have feelings for him, she was just noticing things, which was perfectly normal as she had never had the chance to study him before, or be in such close proximity.

Laughing at herself, she got up, brushing off her clothes. Yes, she would definitely still read about Love Potions to erase those alarming thoughts. After checking to make sure her book was okay; it was by Hector Dagworth-Granger, founder of the _Most Extraordinary Society of Potioneers_; Hermione cleared her throat, as it had gone quite dry; and began to read.

"_Powerful infatuations can be induced by the skillful potioneer, but never yet has anyone managed to create the truly unbreakable, eternal, unconditional attachment that alone can be called Love." _

She shuddered, thank goodness she wasn't infatuated with Malfoy. "_Love cannot be produced by artificial means. However, one can brew a Love Potion. Love Potions are a brew which causes the drinker to become infatuated or obsessed with the one who gave them the potion."_

Hermione sighed, coughing lightly as she skipped over the ingredients most commonly used, hoping to find something she didn't already know about Love Potions.

_Side effects_: _Unfortunately, the drinker of the love potion, in most cases, remembers being under the potions influence, and is left embarrassed because of the potent effects of the potion on the drinker._

Coughing again, Hermione shut the book, not learning anything she didn't already know. Deciding not to waste more precious sleep time, she rolled over, after carefully settling the book down on the nightstand, and flicked off the light.

The next time she woke up it was still dark outside her window. Her throat ached. Now really wasn't the time to come down with a cold, especially with all the 'bonding' she'd be busy with. Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, Hermione made her way down to the little kitchenette, intending to get a glass of water to soothe her throat. Better yet, maybe she could find a kettle and make some tea. She trudged down the stairs, her bare feet padding across the wooden floor. Throwing a glance over her shoulder at the clock on the wall, she noted that it was 2:00 AM. She groaned to herself as she felt her way through the darkness.

Being as quiet as possible, Hermione tiptoed towards the general direction of the kitchenette. Some hot tea would do her throat good. Grasping at what she imagined to be the kettle, and an uttered _aguamenti_ under her breath. She had never taken the time to imagine why McGonagall had placed a muggle kitchenette in their common room. The idea was intriguing, seeing as everyone, apart from her and Harry and possibly Seamus, would be unfamiliar with it.

"What are you doing down here?"

Hermione jumped about a mile, wand whipping out as she whirled around, wide eyed in the darkness. She couldn't see a thing, and panic began to rise in her throat. Two seconds later a wand appeared in front of her face, lit up and blinding her. "Who's there?" she called out, rubbing her eyes and trying to adjust them to the sudden light. She could make out the silhouette in front of her, only a dark form.

"Seeing as I could only be one of five other people, use those deductive skills you're so famous for,"

An icy chill crept down her spine. "Malfoy," Hermione growled, her fingers wrapping around the elegant wood of her wand.

"I applaud you," the offending wand was lowered from her face, and instead she heard him utter an incantation under his breath, lighting up the little kitchenette. Hermione resisted the urge to take a step back at their proximity. Malfoy was only two steps away, his stance predatory like, his face twisted into a sneer. Hermione wanted to hex him into next week as his coldly sarcastic tone washed over her.

"What are you doing down here at this time of night all alone?" Draco loomed over her, his shadow cast on the wall behind him adding to his threatening height, though in truth he wasn't much taller than her.

Seething, she grinded her teeth against one another. "I could ask you the same thing," Hermione glared at him icily. She was not prepared to deal with him right now, nor did she want to. When it became clear that he wasn't going to answer her, she finally said, "I was thirsty," Hermione put her hands on her hips. "Are you going to go complain to your daddy about it?"

She watched Malfoy's body visibly tense as he snarled like a wild animal, his breathing turning heavy as the air around them seemed to crackle with electricity, the foreshadowing of an argument. "That's one thing I've never liked you. Always speaking of things you don't understand,"

Hermione had a retort on the tip of her tongue, ready to tell him just what she didn't like about him, but he had already turned on his heel and was making a retreat for the stairs. The sudden loss of light made her blink once more. When she finally did get her eyes to adjust to the darkness once more, there was nothing but shadows for company, making Hermione wonder if Malfoy was ever even there.

* * *

Hermione stared at her toast, eyes bleary from lack of sleep. Tired from her nonexistence slumber and her left over irritation from her confrontation with Malfoy last night, she could only push her food around her plate, unable to will herself to eat anything. Had her little chat with him even happened? As annoyed as she was for allowing him to leave with the upper hand, strangely, there was an odd twisting in her gut. Her eyes kept flickering up to the Slytherin table, where her blonde group member was sitting chatting with his friends. His face was unsurprisingly blank. Hermione shoved her egg to the other side of her plate, pondering to herself. The behavior Malfoy had exhibited these past couple of days was a bit alarming. She didn't know how to handle this Draco Malfoy. The teasing, arrogant prat? Sure, she could deal. But this more reserved, still arrogant, definitely, and more attractive version of Draco Malfoy? Hermione would rather spend a day with Trelawney then juggle him.

"What's wrong, Hermione?" Harry poked her in the arm. The brunette jumped in surprise. Her friend regarded her with concern. The look he was giving her told her that he had noticed her heavy silence, and wanted answers.

"Has anyone noticed that Malfoy seems…off?" Hermione searched for words to explain her new past time of staring at Malfoy.

Lavender, always one to rudely eavesdrop and then continue on to state her opinion when it wasn't wanted, looked up from her breakfast and frowned. "Yeah, I was wondering about that…"

"I bet he's a Death Eater, plotting to kill us all," Harry muttered darkly, stabbing his fork into his egg violently.

"Maybe he's sick," suggested Lavender, rather unimpressed by Harry's show. The latter deflated a bit at his lack of macho.

"Maybe he's gay," Ron said in between bites of food.

"Gay? Malfoy, gay?" Seamus barked with laughter, spitting pumpkin juice all over the table. Hermione shrieked as the liquid almost touched her book.

"Watch it!"

"You never know," Ron shrugged, before turning back to his eggs. Hermione's eyebrows shot up, and her eyes once more flickered over to the Slytherin table.

"I hope not," Lavender whispered in a suggestive voice, causing Hermione to roll her eyes. Harry, on the other hand, began to roll with the idea.

"Yeah, if he's gay, it explains a lot! Sexual frustration, you know?" he said excitedly, a little too excitedly, Hermione noticed suspiciously.

"Woah, let's not get ahead of ourselves," Hermione interjected, causing Ron to snort.

"It does make sense," Seamus added, and the Gryffindors all turned to stare at the subject of their interest. Malfoy didn't appear to notice, which was probably a good thing.

"Maybe we'll be able to ask him tonight," Lavender giggled.

* * *

"I don't know, I'm worried about what those questions are going to ask. What if they're too personal?" Pansy shuddered, not yet touching her food. She had not mentioned how her first night in the new living arrangments had gone, which worried her friends.

Draco noticed this. "Eat something Pans," Draco said off handedly, shoving a biscuit towards her before fully turning to her. "And they can't be that bad, right? I mean, the teachers wouldn't want to make anyone uncomfortable,"

Pansy's eyes shifted to Blaise, who shook his head ferociously. "What?" Draco looked up, eyes flashing between the two.

Sighing because she was already in dangerous territory, Pansy continued, "They wouldn't want to make anyone uncomfortable _intentionally_,"

Draco stilled. "What are you getting at?" he asked, eyes narrowing dangerously. Pansy swallowed.

"Look, Draco, I know things aren't going well at home-"

"What's that got to do with anything?" he hissed, cutting her off. The witch's mouth opened and closed several times, yet each time she failed to produce words. Blaise, sensing that Pansy was too flustered to continue, picked up for her.

"What if there's a dumb question asking about it? You'll be forced to answer, _truthfully_" he said quietly, hissing the last word. Draco stiffened. "Maybe you should go to McGonagall, since she's basically in charge of this whole thing, and tell her that you don't want to answer those sorts of questions," he added helpfully.

Draco shook his head. "She'll just think I don't want to 'bond' with her dear Gryffindors," he snorted, throwing his fork down on the table, breakfast abandoned. "Which I don't," he added quickly.

"I don't know, Drake, I think it'd be best to try, unless you want to pour your heart out to Potter and his band of misfits,"

"It'll be fine, really, I'm not worrying about it," Draco waved his hand absently, signaling the end of the conversation. Sighing in defeat, his two friends returned to their meals, yet Draco's went untouched for the remainder of breakfast. Pouring his heart out, as Blaise had put it, to Potter and the other Gryffindors wasn't his kind of option. It would be best to avoid it, or at least try to. Perhaps he should take Blaise's words into consideration. Yet if he did, and he did go to McGonagall, she might question why he didn't feel comfortable answering questions about his personal life. No, arousing suspicion wouldn't do, he couldn't risk it. Draco concluded that he wouldn't go to McGonagall.

With the first round looming closer and closer with every passing second, Draco couldn't shake the uneasy feeling lodged in the pit of his stomach.

* * *

**After Dinner, Group Common Room**

"Where do you think you're going?" Harry asked suspiciously, eyeing the blonde who was edging towards the staircase. The boy in question turned to face Harry irritably.

"Upstairs, obviously, Scarhead, I didn't know that your vision was that terrible,"

Ignoring the jibe at his eyesight, Harry plowed on. "But you have to answer the first question with us,"

Dammit, Potter always had to be spot on, didn't he? Though he knew it was foolish, Draco had wished that Potter might just forget about this tiny detail. He had to admit, however, that this feat would be rather difficult, seeing as they were _living_ together for the reason of answering the questions.

Gnashing his teeth together in an unfriendly manner, Draco stalked back over to his group. He sat himself down in one of the armchairs, using his feet to shove it and give a few extra inches of space between him and the obnoxious people around him.

Dinner had been tense. Not many words were exchanged through the group, only hateful glares, which Luna wasn't a part of, of course. In fact, she was the only reason that Draco hadn't lunged across the table to strangle Potter or Finnigan, for fear of hitting her in cross fire.

Hermione sat down calmly between Harry and Seamus on the sofa, Lavender the extra arm chair, and Luna sat down in front of the fireplace, soaking in the warmth. Luna seemed oddly at ease, but yet again, she always did. Hermione eyed the deck of cards before them curiously. She had to admit that her afternoon and evening had been spent wondering what questions lay within the cards.

Meanwhile, the heavy sensation in Draco's stomach hadn't left. What would he do if Blaise was right? Praying to whoever was listening that he would get off safe tonight, Draco sat silently, showing no signs of the turmoil twisting within.

"So, who wants to do the honors?" Seamus rubbed his hands together. The raven haired boy picked up the deck sitting hauntingly in the center of the coffee table.

"I suppose I'll do it," he said, before plucking the one up off of the top. The rest of the group sat forward in anticipation. Harry squinted to read in the dim lighting. "The first question is- drum roll please," he paused for dramatics. No one did anything. Harry pouted. "I _said_ DRUM ROLL!"

Everyone frantically drum rolled for fear of their life.

Clearing his throat in satisfaction, Harry stated in the grandest voice he possibly could, "When you have thirty minutes of free time, how do you pass the time?"

Draco could tell that he wasn't the only one who breathed out a sigh of relief. His gray eyes flickered around his group, all of whom were silent, as if waiting for someone to step up and answer first.

Draco shouldn't have been surprised when Granger stepped up to the plate.

"What do I do when I have thirty minutes of free time? Read," Hermione said, satisfied with her answer. Everyone nodded, already having expecting this.

"What gave that away?" Draco muttered precariously. _That_ was a risky move. Hermione's eyes narrowed and her hair crackled with electricity.

"Eek!" Lavender shrieked, diving out of harm's way.

"Do you have a problem with that?" Hermione asked, voice dangerously quiet. The blonde looked at her as if she were a mad woman-which no one's denying, really-and raised an eyebrow.

"Better have your head stuck in a dusty book than up your own arse, I suppose," Draco shot a look at Potter, who gave him a hearty glare. Hermione opened her mouth to most likely bombard him with a wide variety of hexes, but was cut off by Luna.

"Search for my radish earrings, I fear I've misplaced them again," her airy voice fluttered delicately around the common room. Time seemed to pause, and everyone shifted in an uncomfortable manner.

"That's, er, fascinating, Luna," Harry stumbled out, scratching his neck. "I guess I'll go next. I mostly fly around the pitch, it helps clear my thoughts," he looked to Seamus and gestured for him to go next. Seamus stroked his chin thoughtfully, soaking in the attention and time.

"When I have thirty minutes…" he began, then his eyes lit up when he found his answer. "I wank…and play me dad's fiddle," everyone stared at him in alarm. "Not _that_ fiddle! The instrument!"

"Oh!" everyone exclaimed in relief. Hermione gave Seamus another hearty glare at the bluntness of his answer. He shrugged in reply.

"I had to be truthful,"

Draco decided he might as well answer now. "Fly," he said shortly, offering nothing more. Harry gave him an understanding look, which Draco sneered at. He didn't want any Gryffindor, never mind Potter, relating with him in any way.

"Do my hair," Lavender fittingly twirled a strand of blonde around her finger daintily.

Hermione muttered something unmentionable under her breath about what else Lavender spent her free time doing.

Lavender, thankfully not noticing Hermione's comment, said after a moment's hesitation. "Is that it?"

"That was harmless," Seamus scoffed. "This will go by in a breeze!" he leaned back in satisfaction, allowing his head to fall back on the cushion.

"I wouldn't say that so soon," Hermione said uneasily. "Who knows what sort of questions there'll be. We have forty-one more. And this class was designed to get to know each other better. I doubt there are just going to be care free willy-nilly questions,

"So like deep heart wrenching questions, then?" Seamus asked, an odd gleam in his eyes.

Hermione nodded. "Looks like we'll be getting chummy."

* * *

And Hermione doesn't know just how right she is ;)

Anywho, that was the first question. I assure you that they will get much more serious and…thought provoking…but I'm going to keep a lot of light humorous ones as well. Of course, with the questions being written by a rather mischievous Dumbledore, there are going to be ones that make sure that everyone is uncomfortable :D

As for Draco's behavior, that will be explained in the next chapter.

So, thanks for reading this chapter, remember to review!

**A/N: All love potion information come from harrypotter. wikia wiki / Love _ Potion (remove the spaces)**


	5. Chapter 5

**5/27/13 EDITED- Chapter 4** has experienced a somewhat substantial change, so if you have not read the edited version, it may interest you to do so

Thanks to some of my readers, I have gone back through and fixed the year mix up. Harry and Co. are in their Seventh Year at Hogwarts. I hope this cleared things up!

* * *

**Chapter 5: A Not So Petty Disagreement**

The sun was bright and glaring that morning. Harry groaned, switching himself over so that his head was buried in the pillow. He would have liked to sleep some more, but the sound of incessant, muffled shouting filtered into his room. The silencing charm he had placed on his room last night must have worn off. Grumbling about the consideration of other people, Harry tossed in his half-awake state, tangling himself further in his sheets. Unfortunately, his tossing caused him to inch towards the edge of the bed. Before he knew it, Harry had successfully managed to fall out of bed, landing mercilessly on the floor. "Merlin's rod," he groaned from the floor, righting himself as quickly as his tired limbs would allow. It was a decision that he regretted when he finally made his way to the door and yanked it open, intent on seeing what all of the ruckus was about.

His eardrums were immediately blown out. "HURRY UP, LAVENDER! I have to pee like a mother-" Seamus was currently hoping from foot to foot, jiggling about in a way that Harry recognized as the 'Bathroom Dance'. Standing beside the dancing boy was an annoyed Hermione Granger and an impatient Draco Malfoy. Never a good combination. Harry's eyes switched to the bathroom door. The _single_ bathroom door.

Merlin this was going to get interesting.

"It takes time to look this beautiful!" Lavender interjected Seamus lightly, and Hermione just knew that the girl was staring in the mirror and smiling at her reflection.

Hermione slammed her fist against the door. "Bozo the clown called, he wants his face paint back!"

Lavender, somehow managing to ignore this jibe, began to state calmly, "Beauty is-"

Seamus cut her off graciously. "Something you clearly know nothing about. Let's go!"

"Why, you little p-" Lavender began to roar, but again was interrupted.

"HURRY UP!" everyone outside the door shouted in unison.

"-rick that will rot in your darling grandma's basement-!"

"Keep talking, maybe someday you'll say something intelligent," ah, that was the sound of the ever charming Malfoy resident.

"Excuse me!? Malfoy, you're such a-"

"Shut up, you bimbo," the effortless way in which Malfoy said those words was somewhat impressive to Harry. There was a big crash from behind the door, causing everyone, including Harry, to wince.

"I AM _NOT_ A BIMBO! I'll have you know that-"

"Go ahead, tell us everything you know, it'll only take ten seconds!" Draco shouted, crossing his arms defiantly against his chest.

The bimbo in question shrieked in outrage; everyone took a couple of steps away from the door in case she stepped out. "Says you, Malfoy! You don't even know me, so you have no right to comment on my intelligence-"

Malfoy, never to be out done, smirked at the wall separating his latest dueling partner. "The smartest thing ever to come out of your mouth was a dick!" the following scream of fury made Seamus yelp and duck for cover.

"Merlin, woman! You've spent the past hour in there, it's time to share!" Seamus began trying to reason.

"Sharing is caring!" Hermione interjected helpfully.

"Who said I cared?" asked Lavender vehemently from behind the door. The raven haired boy still stood outside his door, observing the scene, knowing that he too would like to use the bathroom before next Wednesday, but found it best to stay out of this situation. Instead, he continued to watch, going unnoticed, thankfully, by his group members.

"If you're going to be a smart ass, first you have to be smart. Otherwise you're just an ass," Draco glared at the door, and Harry shuddered at the intensity of it.

"I could eat a bowl of alphabet soup and shit out a smarter statement than that!" Lavender quipped from behind the door, her tone making Hermione want to burst into laughter, which would have only made the situation worse.

"And people wonder why women have been historically oppressed," Draco muttered. At this the brunette's eyes narrowed and focused in on Malfoy. But before Hermione could launch into a rant about some of the greatest woman powers in history, the door swung open with a bang (nearly hitting Seamus in the face) and a livid Lavender Brown stormed out, ready to kill.

The usually bouncy blonde nailed them all with death glares. "You should be ashamed of yourselves. You're insensitive jerks, every last one of you!" Draco and Seamus had the decency to look ashamed (only slightly on Draco's part) and Hermione rolled her eyes discreetly. With a huff, Lavender stomped past them- bumping shoulders with Draco as she passed- and into her room.

All was still for a solid three seconds after her bedroom door slammed. Then, Draco, Seamus, Hermione and Harry all lurched forward at the same time, intent on getting into the bathroom first. They ended up in a big pile on the ground, twisting and throwing punches at one another.

"I was here first!" Hermione shrieked as her fist connected with Draco's shoulder. He kicked her in the shin.

"No way! I was!"

"ARGH! Harry, get off my bladder!" Seamus squawked, hands shoving Harry away from him.

"Let go of me!" Hermione shrieked as Draco's hands snaked onto her arms, pinning her down so he could attempt to get up.

Harry declared loudly, "Because I was not involved in that argument, I say I get to go in there first!" he grunted when Seamus's fist connected with his stomach.

"BUT I HAVE TO PEE!"

"Never!" Harry bit Seamus's foot in response.

"I'm the lady here, I should get to go fi-MALFOY!" Draco had rolled on top of Hermione, successfully rendering her helpless.

"ARGH, SEAMUS!"

"STOP BITING MY FOOT, HARRY!"

"MALFOY YOU'RE CRUSHING ME!"

"GOOD!"

Meanwhile, no one noticed as a small blonde head peaked around the corner. Determining that the coast was clear, she skipped past the mass of limbs on the floor and into the vacant bathroom, closing the door tightly behind her.

It took another five minutes of shouting and scratching before anyone began to realize that the bathroom was now occupied by their smallest group member. "Look what you did, Seamus! I could be in there right now!"

"This isn't my fault! You're the one who had to-ARGH!"

Unfortunately, the two boys had gotten too close to the edge of the staircase. Without further ado, Seamus and Harry tumbled down the stairs in a human snowball, and they disappeared into the common room, the only sound was their grunts, the sound of their bodies thudding heavily down the stairs, and Harry's distant yelp, "My glasses!"

This left Hermione and Draco in the hallway, their breaths mingled with the sound of the shower running.

"Get off of me," Hermione groaned under his weight. Draco had yet to unpin her, and it was only now, in the silence, that she realized that their position was rather suggestive. It seemed that Draco had too noticed their pose, as his eyes widened and locked with hers. Their proximity became all the more apparent when some of his blonde hair tickled Hermione's forehead.

He loomed over her, frozen as his eyes slid down to her lips, his own parted in surprise. "Malfoy," Hermione tried again, and her soft words fluttered against his tongue, tasting of something sweet. Draco seemed impossibly close to her now, and her own lids began to droop with his. She was very aware of him; his warm lips millimeters from hers, his nose as it batted against hers softly, his racing pulse and hot breath. She was barely aware of the world around them as his top lip fell between hers.

It wasn't more than a fleeting second when their hot breaths clashed together, her essence colliding with his, blending into an impossibly addictive taste, before brutality wrenched them apart and reality settled in between their parted lips.

He rolled off of her in an instant, standing with impossible grace as he desperately tried to put as much space between them as possible. Hermione remained frozen on the ground, her mind unable to comprehend anything except for the sound of his fading footsteps.

She didn't know how long she stayed there on the now dented floor, but when she opened her eyes next, the petite blonde was staring at her. "Well, that's a strange place to take a nap," Luna commented airily from above. Blinking a couple of times, Hermione propped herself up on her elbows, eyes flickering up to the smaller girl. "Are you alright? You look a little flushed," Hermione stood quickly, attempting to gather herself. She had to get out of there now. How did she let that happen? What even did happen? "Hermione?"

The witch in question paused, hand settled on her door frame to her room. "I don't know, Luna. I don't know."

* * *

How had that happened? Why did that happen? How and why did he _let_ that happen?

Quickly drawing back his fist, Draco punched the wall, not noticing the wave of pain that rushed through his hand, or that his hand had actually punched through. With a groan of frustration, Draco leaned his forehead against the wall, finally looking down to inspect his damaged hand. The skin over his knuckles had split and was oozing blood, and his hand was looking slightly disfigured. Draco couldn't bring himself to care at the moment.

Gods, why, _why_ had he done that with _her_? He would call it a kiss but it was only semi so. However the intent was the same as it would have been if it were a real kiss. He resisted the urge to hit the wall again. Running a hand through his hair with his undamaged hand, Draco sat down on his bed.

He didn't like her like that. Hell, he didn't like her at all. She was Hermione Granger, Harry Potter's bushy haired muggle-born bookworm best friend. Sure, there was somewhat of an appeal, she was kind of cute, had a nice smile and a laugh to go with it, and was the only one in their group that hadn't really looked at him in complete disgust, besides Luna of course.

But then there was the fact that she was a Mudblood. Draco clenched his fists again. She was a Mudblood, who was going to die in this approaching war, fighting against Draco. Maybe he should have felt bad about calling her that derogatory name; she had, after all, proved him wrong on many occasions. But then she wasn't exactly free of prejudices either. Draco knew that Potter suspected him of being a Death Eater, and Granger didn't exactly turn down the idea. She probably thought that he was nothing more than a lowly Death Eater, just like his parents. For some reason, that hurt, despite the small truth behind that idea. Draco may not have been as sure about Pureblood Supremacy as of late, but that didn't mean that he had tossed his family traditions out the window.

As for Granger, he could only hope that she wouldn't tell anyone about the…mishap. Either she would keep quiet about it, or she would tell everyone that he had molested her, or that he had forced himself upon her whilst she screamed and pushed in protest. Draco sighed in defeat, swiftly getting to his feet. There was nothing he could do about it now except to try and ignore her. And pray that he wouldn't be asked a question about it in this project.

To clear his mind, Draco decided he might as well go to breakfast now. Passing through the common room he found Potter and Finnigan laughing hysterically at something, and they barely stopped to sneer at him. Draco supposed this was a good thing, he didn't want to be put off by their ugly faces so early in the morning. Once out of the portrait hole and away from the ever arguing Rabnott's, Draco felt a tug on his arm, already aware of who it was.

"It's a nice morning, don't you think?" said Luna, eyes following the landscape just outside. Draco turned as well, and noted that it was indeed a nice morning, in an odd sort of way. The grass was still dewy and the little water droplets clung to it and shimmered delicately. Early morning fog rolled around close to the ground, and hung stubbornly over the lake.

Draco turned back to Luna to agree with her, but he found she was staring at him already. "You look different today," she said calmly, eyes roving his face. Draco tried not to squirm under her heavy gaze. Self-consciously, he pushed his hair out of his eyes, unable to stay still as she continued to stare. "No," the girl shook her head and smiled "it's not a bad thing. You look rather handsome,"

Somewhat embarrassed, Draco lowered his eyes. He didn't get compliments often, and he certainly wasn't known for expressing gratitude. "Thanks," he mumbled, looking quite uncharacteristic. Luna paid no mind to it, and began filling Draco in on the origin of Hinkypunks. The duo continued on down the corridor, Draco listening appreciatively to the girl's imagination. When they were passing by a group of Slytherin sixth years, however, the comfortable atmosphere disappeared.

One of them called out, "What is Looney doing walking with _you_? Got lost on your search for Nargles, you crazy bint?" Draco gritted his teeth at the fellow Slytherin.

"Don't call her that. You've got half the brilliance she does,"

One could practically hear the boy's mouth drop open. The corners of Luna's lips quirked slightly as she continued to look forward, not sparing a glance at the now flabbergasted boy. Draco sent a smirk in the groups direction as they continued to breakfast.

"Draco!" Pansy called out upon him entering the Great Hall. Luna said a quick goodbye and skipped off towards the Ravenclaw table. The dark haired girl gave a curious look at Luna's retreating back before approaching Draco.

Immediately, Pansy's eyes dropped down to his hand and narrowed. "What happened to your hand?" in all honesty, Draco had completely forgotten about his injured hand. He tried to hide it by slightly shifting it behind him, but Pansy's hand snapped out and caught it, bringing it up to her face to survey the damage. He watched as she raised a dainty eyebrow.

"I punched a wall," Draco explained casually, as the two friends began making their way to the Slytherin table.

Pansy stared at him in exasperation. "Why on earth would you do that?" she asked him. The blond shrugged again as they sat down.

"Better than punching a person,"

Pansy shook her head. "You know, sometimes I just don't understand you," the young Malfoy gave a low chuckle.

"It's probably a good thing that you're mind doesn't work like mine."

Sighing, Pansy gestured for him to give her his hand again. "Give it here," Draco did as told, and Pansy whipped out her wand. She mumbled an incantation under her breath, and Draco watched as the skin weaved together. He gave her a slight smile in thanks. "That's all I can do for now. You'll have to see Madame Pomfrey about the bones, looks like you may have broken some," Pansy said, giving him a disapproving glare. Draco smiled sheepishly.

"Will do, thanks, Pans,"

The girl rolled her eyes in irritation, but it gave way to a smile as she sat down beside her friend. "Do you mind helping me with my Charms essay?"

"You mean do I mind writing you're Charms essay?"

Pansy gave him a dazzling smile.

Muttering to himself, Draco took the parchment she offered to him.

**Over** **at the Gryffindor table….**

"Good morning everyone!" Hermione plopped down between Harry and Ron. A chorus of hellos sounded, and Hermione began buttering her toast. Inside, she was trying to keep her cool. She was trying to act normal, not suspicious in any way. It didn't help that whenever someone glanced her way she immediately thought they knew about her and Malfoy's…experience. Not that the 'experience', as she was calling it, was bad. It was pleasant, if you overlooked the fact that it was Malfoy. But even then, he had seemed…warmer.

Her ears perked up and she caught the rest of Seamus' sentence.

"I think this whole thing is a joke," he was saying, and Ron choked on his eggs.

"Are you kidding me?" he cried "Our question was asking if any of us were virgins!" Ron practically shouted, and everyone's jaws hit the table.

"What?!" Hermione shrieked, dropping her toast onto her plate, butter knife clattering. "What kind of question is that?"

"What a way to break the ice," Harry scratched his head, before patting his friend on the back. "How'd they react when they found out you were the only virgin in the group, mate?"

Harry leapt out of his seat and bolted for his life when Ron charged after him with his spoon.

Opening and closing her mouth, Hermione finally said, "How is that educational? That is not appropriate!"

"At least I don't have to worry about people thinking I'm a prude. Worried about answering that question, Hermione?" Fay Dunbar said slyly. She had been eavesdropping from a couple of seats away. Hermione turned to glare at her fellow Gryffindor.

"Not as much as you should be," Fay frowned, and was about to say something when Hermione cut her off. "I don't have to worry about people thinking I'm a slut,"

You could hear a pin drop. "Moving on," Seamus said awkwardly before a cat fight could take place. It was a good thing that a panting Harry and Ron returned (Harry looking wearily at Ron and his spoon) or else Hermione might have sprung up and showed Fay what for, something she didn't do often, or ever, actually. But now that logic was settling in, preventing Hermione from going forth with her physical attack, a cold feeling settled in her stomach. She did not want to admit in front of her group, especially in front of Malfoy, that she was a virgin. That was personal information. Hermione would have to talk to McGonagall about this…

Pulling out of her internal thoughts, Hermione picked up on the conversation happening around her.

"Of course I would have been late to breakfast- and we can't have that- if I had waited for everyone to be done before I got to the bathroom, so I just took other measures," no one was sure that they wanted to know what 'other measures' were. Seamus continued on. "Thank Merlin I got to relieve myself downstairs-"

Hermione honed in. "What?" Seamus' eyes widened and he tried to cover his slip up.

"Oh! Er, nothing Hermione,"

"Seamus Finnigan, I know for a fact that there is no bathroom downstairs in our common room. Now tell me where you 'relieved' yourself or I swear-" Hermione began to threaten. Ah, it had been a rough morning, and things were only going to get worse.

"Calm yourself, would you? The plant was wilting anyways-"

"YOU PEED IN THE PLANT?!"

"I had too! I was desperate! It was either that or the sink, which do you prefer?"

"THAT'S DISGUSTING!" Hermione practically shrieked, whilst Harry muttered something about human pee being used as fertilizer for flowers.

"It's not hurting anyone, Hermione," Seamus said calmly, just as Lavender sat down to join them.

"Hello, everyone," she said, somewhat curtly as she was still mad about the morning's bathroom fight. Everyone scooted to make room to accommodate her. Hermione noted jealously that, yet again, that the girl was looking fabulous, with her hair braided down her back and a delicate flower tucked behind her ear.

Seamus's mouth gaped open and closed, and Harry was experiencing a similar reaction, those his eyes were wide with horror. "Hey, Lavender?" he asked weakly. The girl in question turned to him, eyes slightly narrowed.

"Yes?"

Seamus cleared his throat. "Where'd you get that flower?" he motioned to the flower placed carefully in her hair.

"In the potted plant in the common room," she frowned at him. When she was greeted with silence, Lavender rolled her eyes, figuring it was unimportant.

Meanwhile, she didn't notice as Harry, Hermione and Seamus were gawking at the flower in terror.

* * *

**I apologize for the filler chapter! But...Dramione moment! Woot woot!**

**Flames will be used to heat the fire between Draco and Hermione**

Disclaimer: I don't own HP


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